Stay With Me
by AliceMarrieCarroll
Summary: Eren is hospitalized with a deadly disease and Levi is unaware he's going to get the shock of his life. LevixEren fanfiction in the modern world. Also my first SnK fanfiction.
1. Chapter 1

My name is Rivaille Ackerman, but my few close friends and steady boyfriend call me Levi. His name is Eren Jaeger, and we've been together almost a year now. Unfortunately, a lot of our time together has been spent in the hospital, just as we are now.

I stood at the foot of Eren's hospital bed, listening to the whirring, buzzing, and beeping of the various machines hooked up to my boyfriend to keep him alive. The sight brought me to tears, and luckily he wasn't awake to see me like this. We've been here for a week now, because every heart donation that comes in, he offers to another patient who he says needs it more. Oh that's right. You don't know.

Eren developed a serious heart condition, one that's been slowly killing his heart for years now. Even the doctors don't have a name for this disease. The machines hooked to Eren were keeping his heart beating, even with it slowly dying with every passing second. We've been in the hospital for a week waiting for the next heart donation compatible with his body. I convinced him to accept it. I was _not_ going to lose him now.

Eren stirred and turned his head, his eyes darting around the room before finally spotting me. He opened his mouth to speak, but didn't have the strength to make a sound. I walked around the hospital bed to his side, where I reached out and took his hand.

"Levi," he finally croaked out. Eren attempted to squeeze my hand.

"Don't speak," I commanded. "You need to save your energy." He let out a hoarse laugh.

"For what?" Eren asked, his eyes leaving mine as doctors filled the room. I too looked over at the closest doctor, who had a clipboard in his hand.

"What's going on?" I asked him. From the corner of my eye, I noticed how afraid Eren looked.

"Well Mr. Ackerman, you instructed us to let you know the moment Mr. Jaeger's new heart arrived," he explained. "It just came in and surgeons are preparing the O.R. as we speak."

"Wonderful," I said, turning back to Eren. "Did you hear that, Eren? You're heart is here and we can finally leave this place." The doctors transferred Eren to a gurney and began wheeling him down the hall, but he stopped them outside the operating room.

"Levi," he said to me. "Levi, please don't go."

"I'm not going anywhere, Eren," I said to him.

"Levi, please, stay with me," Eren begged.

"I will, Eren. Always," I said as they pushed him through the doors.


	2. Chapter 2

I sat outside his operating room for countless hours. I didn't dare risk falling asleep in case something went wrong. I hoped with every ounce of my being that nothing went wrong. After an eternity and a half, one of the surgeons came out, and my heart stopped when I saw his heavily blood-stained scrubs.

"The surgery went exceptionally well," he said, walking over towards me. "However, he's going to need a week or so to recover. I recommend you head home and-"

"I'm not going anywhere, fucker" I snapped, interrupting him. "I promised that man in there that I'd stay with him, and that includes now." Without waiting for a response, I turned and followed the nurses moving Eren back to his room. He was unconscious again.

"When will he wake up?" I asked them.

"He'll be out all night," the closest nurse responded. "I recommend you get some rest. It's been a long day." I simply nodded and walked to the couch at the other end of the room. It was painful to be this far from Eren in his time of need, but it was necessary. Besides, I'd be by his side the moment I woke up again. I sighed and pulled the blanket off the back of the couch, falling asleep much faster than anticipated.

* * *

I was right by Eren's side when he opened his eyes. He seemed confused at first, but I was beyond ecstatic that he was alive.

"Levi? You stayed?" he asked as if his mind was still clouded by anesthetics.

"Of course I did. I promised you I would, brat," I said, trying to hide my smile.

"So you'll stay with me always?" he asked.

"Hell, Jaeger, if you get out of this shithole before next month I'll ask you to marry me," I said. Immediately I wished I had thought my sentence through before it spilled from my lips. We were both silent for endless moments.

"Do you honestly mean that?" Eren finally asked. Another endless silence.

"Yes," I said softly. "Yes, I honestly mean that. If you get out of this place in the next three weeks, I'll ask you to marry me as soon as we step outside of this damned place." Eren smiled softly.

"Well then I'll have to make sure I'm out in _two_ weeks," he teased. I had to smile back at him. Here he was the day after his life saving surgery, and he was practically making a bet with me over his recovery time.

"You're really something, Jaeger," I said, shaking my head.

"I know," he responded. I leaned over the rail of his bed and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

"You better recover quickly," I teased him. "You know I'm not one for patience."


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, I was awoken by errotic beeping from Eren's heart monitor. I frantically pressed the nurse call button by his bed. When they arrived shortly after, they needed no explanation as Eren was still unconscious with his heart beating very fast and very unstable. They moved quickly, shouting things I couldn't understand and attaching more things to Eren while unattaching some other things. Nothing seemed to be working until one of the doctors hooked up what appeared to be a bag of blood. After a few moments, Eren's heartbeat begain to slow down and steady. I sighed with relief.

"Will he be alright now?" I asked, stepping forward slowly. The doctors and nurses looked over at me as if they didn't know I had been there the entire time.

"Yes, he'll be alright," one doctor reesponded. "May I ask who you are to the patient?"

"His partner," I responded simply. The doctor said nothing and I turned my head to look at Eren's now calm form.

"Levi. . ." Eren mumbled. My breath hitched in my throat as I reached out and took his hand.

"I'm right here, Eren. It's ok. You're ok. I'm right here," I said, squeezing his hand gently.

"I thought I was gonna die," he groaned, scrunching up his face.

"Damnit Jaeger," I said, gripping his hand between both of mine. Tears began clouding my vision and the room seemed to disappear. It was only Eren and I in an endless space.

"Levi?" Eren said.

"Yes?" I asked, taking one hand away to wipe the tears from my eyes.

"I love you," he said, opening his eyes to look at me. I didn't hesitate in my response.

"I fucking love you too," I said. I saw the corners of his mouth turn up in a smile.

* * *

A week passed and there were rumors of Eren being released from the hospital soon. These rumors made me nervous because I promised I would marry him if he got out before the end of the month.

"Eren, I have to run errands today," I told him, stroking his hand gently. His face fell and his sadness nearly broke my heart. "Don't worry, I'll be back before dark."

"Ok I guess," Eren responded slowly. "I'll see you later, then."

"I'll see you later," I said, leaning over him to place a gentle kiss on his forehead. I walked out of the hospital and climbed into my car. I drove downtown to my first stop, the jewelry store. I was embarrassed to be walking in. I didn't want to walk in here, especially when I was going to propose to another guy, but Eren told me if we were to ever get married, he hoped to have a ring. He even managed to sneak his ring size into conversations.

"Hello, sir. My name is Erwin. How may help you today?" the salesman asked. The man seemed a little too happy to be selling jewelry, but I was in no place to judge.

"I need a size 35 engagement ring," I said, feeling my face turn a bright red. Erwin laughed a little.

"No need to be embarrassed sir. Every guy goes through this," he said. I simply nodded and followed him to the display case. Erwin pulled out a tray, all size 35, and let me look them over. One of them really caught my eye. It had a white gold band and a 4 karat diamond. I knew it would be perfect, but that shit was _expensive as fuck_. I was in a dilemma.

"Having trouble deciding, Mr. . ." Erwin said.

"Ackerman, and the only trouble I'm having is with the price of this," I responded, holding up the ring I knew Eren would love.

"That is actually one of our cheaper rings at only $1,240.00," Erwin said. As if that made it any better. I sighed and dug out my credit card.

"Eren better appreciate the fuck out of this," I mumbled to myself.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Erwin asked, swiping my card in the machine.

"Just mumbling to myself," I said. Erwin finished the transaction and I was on my way with the ring. I finished the rest of my insignificant errands before heading back to the hospital, where I got a suprise so big I almost couldn't handle it.


	4. Chapter 4

I was nearly thrown into a wall by the force of the hug I recieved. I tensed for a moment before I realized it was Eren. I wrapped my arms tightly around his waist, still unsure of the situation.

"Eren. . ." I breathed. "W-what's going on?"

"We can go home, Levi!" he cried, gripping me tightly. I was stunnned. I didn't know how to react.

"W-we can go home?" I repeated. "You don't need to be hooked up the all those machines anymore?" Eren pulled away and looked at me, his face stretched into a grin.

"No, not anymore!" Eren said happily. "We can go home!" He must've seen something strange on my face. "Is something wrong, Levi?" I looked up at him.

"No, nothing's wrong," I answered. "I just have to do something before we go. . ." I saw the confusion on his face turn to shock as I pulled the velvet box out of my pocket and got down on one knee. "Eren Jaeger, I love you and I want you to stay with me for the rest of our lives. I'm not doing this because of what I said a few weeks ago. I'm doing this because I truly love you. Will you marry me?" Eren's eyes began tearing up.

"Yes, Levi. I'll marry you," he said, choking om his tears. I slid his ring onto his finger and stood, hugging him tightly.

"Let's go home," I said, taking him by the hand.

* * *

Six months later, Eren and I were sitting at the head table of our wedding. We had said our vows hours earlier and were now Mr. and other Mr. Ackerman. I leaned over towards Eren.

"I fucking love you," I said, placing a kiss on his cheek. He blushed.

"I love you too, Levi," he said, looking up at me. I leaned over even more to kiss him on his warm, full lips. He kissed me back passionately, earning cheering from our wedding guests. Eren pulled away, blushing even deeper. I grinned at him.

"I'm so happy we're doing this," I said to him.

"Me too," he responded, blush still coloring his face.

"Just wait until tonight," I whispered in his ear. "I've been holding back, but tonight I'm going to destroy you."

"Levi!" Eren breathed. I grinned as Eren's closest friend Armin stood for a speech, Mikasa close at his side. Eren was finally mine and he would always stay with me.


End file.
